ABSTRACT
Term from Jungian analytic psychology. Archetypes are the processes that universally structure symbols and imagery in all cultures (and as such are part of what Jung calls the ‘collective unconscious’, which itself may be understood either as an account of a genetically determined structuring of human experience and understanding, or, more mystically, as a point of communion with the divine). Strictly, archetypes determine the form of imagery, rather than the content. They are, however, inferred from the vast range of concrete images and symbols found in mythologies, religions, dreams and art, across history and space. A number of archetypes are identified by Jung, although the most significant are, perhaps, the anima (the female archetype, and as such the inner face of man), the animus (the male archetype and inner face of woman), and the shadow (the undeveloped ‘animal’ instincts, and thus the darker or negative side of human personality). [AE] Further reading: Gray 1996.
